Ontario to the Feds....



Commuters pass the construction site at Union Station earlier this year. With low interest rates, the federal government should act now to build infrastructure, the premier says.
VINCE TALOTTA / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

Federal government infrastructure plan ‘so inadequate,’ Kathleen Wynne says

Premier Kathleen Wynne says the Harper government’s inflammatory rhetoric doesn’t build bridges or ease congestion.

thestar.com
By: Richard J. Brennan Provincial Politics,
Published on Tue Nov 04 2014

Premier Kathleen Wynne says the Harper government’s inflammatory rhetoric doesn’t build bridges or ease congestion.

“We have a federal partner (on infrastructure) and we need them to start acting like one,” Wynne said Tuesday, speaking to the Canadian Council for Public Private Partnership’s annual conference.

Speaking to same conference Monday, Finance Minister Joe Oliver accused the province of holding up Ottawa’s plan to devote nearly $11 billion to infrastructure investments in the province over the coming years.

Oliver complained he is still waiting for the Liberal government to submit its list of preferred infrastructure projects under the Building Canada Plan, which is designed to give predictable long-term funding to provinces and territories.

“While it was great to hear that he’s suddenly eager to get on with the job, rhetorical enthusiasm does not build bridges nor does it ease congestion,” Wynne said.

“Worse, suggesting that Ontario is holding up $11 billion worth of infrastructure projects has him playing some sort of blame (game) that really is not necessary. What we need is to focus on building.”

Infrastructure Minister Brad Duguid said earlier his officials have had challenges getting information from the federal government on the application process they set up for the Building Canada Plan.

“In June, we sent a draft application framework to the federal government, and they haven’t replied. They also haven’t set any deadlines with respect to this process. We need to know how the funds are going to roll out before sending a list of priority projects,” he said.

In her speech, Wynne said federal infrastructure funding is “so inadequate . . . and so unilateral in approach, it gives Ontario little choice but to apply pressure” on the Harper government.

“I need to set the record straight. First the federal allocation for provincial projects in Ontario under the $70 billion Building Canada Plan over 10 years, where we are investing $130 billion over 10 years . . . is $2.7 billion over 10 years,” she said.

Wynne added her government in June sent Ottawa an agreement on how it would access the federal funding and “we are still waiting for their response.”

“With every delay Canada’s persistent infrastructure gap widens and economic growth narrows. So the sum total of that is we need a federal partner that gets this and gets serious because with low interest rates and a federal surplus next year the time to act is right now,” she said.

Earlier in her speech Wynne was singing the praises of public-private partnerships where the government partners up with the private sector to build badly needed infrastructure such as hospitals, schools and courthouses.

“Already we have 39 alternative financing and procurement projects . . . and $3 billion in value for money savings,” she said.

With files form Rob Ferguson and The Canadian Press